A. They show
an establishing aerial shot of the real Pelican Hill Country Club, in Newport Beach.

Q.
When did we see it on the show?

A. In Episode
4 (of season one), "The Debut", we see Ryan and Seth enter through
a lobby, then turn into a ballroom, where a woman is leading the students
in a rehearsal for the upcoming Cotillion dance. Ryan meets Milissa, and
is introduced to Anna for the first time. Ryan dances with Anna, and Summer
reluctantly dances with Seth.

Q.
What is it actually in real life?

A. A hotel lobby
& ballroom, but not in Newport.

Q.
Where can I find it in real life?

A. Although
the exterior and entrance shots of the previous Cotillion scenes were shot
at the country club location (Trump National
Golf Club), these interior shots of the dance rehearsal scenes were actually
filmed inside the Manhattan BeachMarriott Hotel at 1400 Parkview Avenue,in
Manhattan Beach, CA

The hotel is
located right next door to (west of) the studio
where The O.C. is filmed.

(The hotel's
golf course was seen in another episode.
And the tennis courts next door to
the hotel were seen in yet another episode.)

Q.
How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A. I found this
one via a tip from a fan, Fabian (of Switzerland), who emailed me and alerted
me to it. He also directed me to the Marriott's official website,
where it was easy to match up photos
of the hotel with the episode's screenshots.

Most notably,
the unusual lamps in the Marriott hotel's lobby
were a perfect match (see the middle photo above), as was the yellow & white-striped
wallpaper in the hotel - and in another scene, you can see the hotel's
golf course out the window behind Ryan (see the photo to the right).